


Nightmare

by hopeforrain



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst?, Comfort, M/M, Post-War, Psychological Trauma, fluff?, not sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 02:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4204272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeforrain/pseuds/hopeforrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war left a lot of people with emotional issues. Seamus is no exception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmare

“Just do it! DO IT!”  
Seamus was on the floor, tears running down his face from pain as his Dark Arts teacher screamed at him. “Just do it!” Seamus felt pain flare across his face as Carrow shot a curse at him. “Nasty little brat deserves it! Just DO IT!” The last shout was followed by more pain, worse than Seamus could bear. He struggled to his knees and lifted his wand, hand shaking. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t take the pain anymore.  
“Crucio,” he said, pointing his wand at the terrified twelve year old. It wasn’t as strong as Carrow wanted, but the child’s screams still started the tears down his face again.  
“C’mon, boy, you can do better than that!” Carrow shouted.  
“No, I can’t,” Seamus mumbled. “I can’t do it.”  
“Fine. Crucio!” The curse was directed at Seamus this time, and he shut his eyes and screamed, just wishing everything would stop.

Seamus opened his eyes and found himself lying in bed in his and Dean’s flat. He hated this dream. If he had a galleon for how many times he'd had it since the war, he'd probably be able to buy Hogwarts.  
He sat up and put his head in his hands. He knew he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. He never could after the dream. After acknowledging that fact, he had a couple options: he could lie in bed and try to convince himself to schedule an appointment with that therapist Harry had mentioned, or he could get out of bed and go get a snack.  
He decided on the second option. Dean had made cake a couple nights ago, and Seamus figured finishing that off would be a pretty good use of his time.  
He climbed out of bed, wrapped a blanket around his bare shoulders, and walked carefully down the hallway. As he passed Dean's door, he considered knocking. He wasn't sure what he wanted, though, so he just walked by. Best stick to getting that piece of cake.  
Seamus found his treat and made his way into the living room so he could put on a movie while eating. He flipped on the light and saw that his favorite spot on the couch was already taken. Dean was sitting with his eyes closed and his feet up on the coffee table. When the light came on, Dean opened his eyes. “Shay, what’s wrong? Why are you up?”  
“Oh, just felt like a piece of cake, that’s all,” Seamus said nonchalantly.  
“Shay, it’s three in the morning, and you never get out of bed in the middle of the night. What’s wrong?”  
Seamus sighed. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe Harry was right. Maybe he did need to talk to someone, and Dean would probably be easier than a therapist. He set his plate down on the coffee table and went to sit by his friend. “It’s this dream I’ve been having, about last year.”  
He described the dream to Dean, getting more and more distressed as he went on. “I don’t know why it’s so upsetting. I didn’t even do that last year.”  
“You didn’t torture anyone, but people tortured you. And you saw other students hurting kids. It was a terrible year, and it’s normal to have scars.”  
Seamus shook his head and mumbled, “Some Gryffindor I am, getting insomnia from a stupid little dream.”  
“Oh, Shay.” Dean wrapped his arms around his friend, whose voice was threatening tears. “Being Gryffindor isn’t about not being scared. It’s about fighting through the fear, doing the right thing even when you’re terrified. You did the right thing, all last year. You’re so brave, and having a recurring nightmare doesn’t change that. I get them, too. It doesn’t make us less brave.”  
Seamus looked up at Dean’s face. “You get nightmares?”  
Dean smiled wryly. “Why did you think I was up at three? I’m still trying to get the images out of my head.”  
Seamus turned and buried his face in Dean’s chest, feeling his friend stroke his hair. “I just want it all to stop. I want them to go away.”  
“I know, love. I know.” Dean kissed the top of Seamus’s head, and Seamus smiled a little as he drifted off to sleep in the comforting arms holding him.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment! They're much appreciated!


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